Two-room Vegetarian Cafe at the Northern end of Colombo Street. Eventually a bar was built into the left-side of the venue, with (mostly acoustic) bands performing at the front of the room pressed against the big roadside windows.

Mainstreet Cafe, photo from Beaker @ coffee.gen.nz

From all accounts the food was very very good vegetarian fare, with C4 coffee and a bar stocked with what seemed at the time like exotic foreign beers and other alcohols.

Generally got pretty decent crowds due to the cramped size of the venue plus the walk-up nature of performing there (it was quite easy to entice people walking up Colombo to come inside, while playing).

One of my very first performing experiences was here, as a guest performer with the ‘Davidson Collective’ – it was a very welcoming place. One notable aspect was the walls of the performing room which were covered in a fantastic collection of classic New Zealand gig posters, sadly removed when the venue was refitted some time in the early 00’s.

Went out of business around 2006 and was knocked down prior to the Canterbury Earthquakes. An office complex is currently (July 2017) being constructed on the site.